About Sponsors Alliance

As industry representative bodies, we believe we are best placed to promote our industry sectors and to manage business schemes.

We firmly believe that trade development must be managed nationally and with sector expertise.

Currently there are around 40 members of the Sponsors Alliance. All members are Accredited Trade Organisations (ATO's), who are not-for-profit, national, independent, cross-sectorial and membership based.

Sponsors Alliance members organise and account for around 60% of the TAP programme events and budgets.

The Trade associations and Chambers of Commerce within the Sponsors Alliance represent thousands of companies and hundreds of thousands of employees.

Views on the Sponsors Alliance:

"The Sponsors Alliance is a very effective lobbying organisation which assists UK SME companies to lobby the government and opposition on International Trade. In particular, the Alliance focuses on improving the funding available for overseas exhibitions to enable the UK to promote themselves in overseas markets. We are wholly behind this initiative of like minded trade associations and are pleased to give our support."

Sir Ronald Halstead, President, Engineering Industries Association

"The need to ensure that accurate first hand information gets to the right people in Government and the Opposition is vital if policy is to be meaningful. The close relationship the Sponsors Alliance has with UKTI and other Government departments has made a significant contribution in enabling UK companies to promote themselves in overseas markets. The AEA is an enthusiastic supporters of the Sponsors Alliance."

Roger Lane-Nott, CEO, AEA

Political parties answer questions

As the election approached the Sponsors Alliance asked all three parties to comment on what they would do to help UK exporters. The answers are on the Campaign page of the website.

The Sponsors Alliance continues to battle for a nationally run and properly funded trade fair scheme; something Labour promised Business on first coming to power in 1997. The Scheme is particularly effective. Not only does it support many companies to establish sales in overseas markets, it also provides Accredited Trade Organisations opportunity to earn from delivering the Scheme to industry, thereby enabling us to engage actively with UKTI in promoting trade.
While our European competitors benefit from support far in excess of their British counterparts, we ask, why won't our government give us a level playing field?